Weapons of Power
Weapons of Power is a story in the Matoran Universe concerning Niha and her first mission: to find and retreive the lost Power Tridents. Story Chapter One The cold, metallic voice of an Order informer intruded Niha’s mind as she awoke with a stretch, groggily yawning. “You are wanted in missions briefing room number sixty-four,” the monotonous robot repeated. Niha sleepily took in what the informant had said, and paused to register what that meant, not believing her audio receptors. “You are wanted in missions briefing room number sixty-four,” it droned again as Niha’s breathing quickened, her eyes widening in shock. Was she dreaming? She pinched herself with all of her strength, and the pain was real! She had just finished her training a week ago. How could she be given an assignment so soon? “You are wante—“, the machine tried to get out, but Niha interrupted. “I acknowledge my duty!” Niha said, barely keeping the excited edge from her voice. The robot ceased its droning, having been acknowledged, and shut off, sitting like a rock on Niha’s small desk. Niha got out of her bed hurriedly and sloppily strapped on her armor. What would her job be? She heard from other members that first missions were normally simple things, like moving an artifact from one location to the other, or silencing small mobs of rogue Matoran. Niha didn’t care, she thought, as she secured a strap on her shoulder armor. She just wanted to be of some use. She left the room and strode down the dormitory hall, glancing quickly at other Order members leaving to do the many jobs that the Order of Mata Nui needed done. Niha exited the dormitory hall and entered the hub. The hub was a large, dome-shaped room with several halls branching from it. It was where one could find the weather for the next fortnight, it was where the armory was, the entrance to the archives opposite it. The dormitory branch was the one Niha just came from, where the members slept and kept their personal belongings. There was the training branch, where newly recruited members would learn their skill. There was the weapons research, rahi research, and artifact research branches, where the Order scientists would examine the powers and qualities of recently invented or discovered weapons, rahi, and artifacts. There was the combat branch, where any member could practice their fighting skills with another member, or with a mechanical substitute. The branch Niha was looking for was the mission branch, where Helryx, the organization’s leader, would brief Order mission teams on their assignments. It was across from the dormitory hall, so she darted over to it, passing several others, some of whom she knew, some of whom she didn’t. Niha remembered as she walked down the hall it was room sixty-four, and she saw it was not far now. Fifty-seven…fifty-nine…sixty-two…. Niha turned towards the door and rested her hand on the doorknob. She calmed herself down, and entered the room. The first person she noticed was Helryx, standing near the wall opposite the door. To Niha’s surprise, the Order leader had already begun the briefing. The blue-armored leader gave a nod in Niha’s direction and motioned for her to sit. As she hastened to obey she saw a white-armored Toa with a helmet instead of a mask. Niha had seen him before, but she had been too shy to talk to him. She avoided looking at the Toa as she passed him. Kemlar, Niha’s primary combat trainer, was there too. As always, she was wearing black armor. "Thanks for saving me a seat,” Niha whispered, “the informer didn’t give me the time of the meeting for some reason.” “Don’t worry, you just missed the introductions,” Kemlar reassured her. Comforted, Niha turned her attention to Helryx. “Most of you are skilled in the missions field, so you may already have an idea of what you are going to do. But, we have one new missions member here today, so I am going to explain this thoroughly. “Retrieval missions normally take longer than other missions, so you will need extra supplies. And, as with all of our missions, you will need to bring your weapon. If a Matoran or Toa tries to get in the way, only use your powers to stun. Matoran and Toa keep Mata Nui running; we can’t spare even one. After you find the object we need you to find and put it somewhere safe on your ship, and bring it back. “Now that the details of retrieval missions are out of the way, I can tell you what your mission actually is. “There is strong evidence that two powerful weapons are on the Northern Continent. There are legends about these weapons being very strong, stronger than several Kanohi powers, including the Avohkii. They are said to strengthen the powers that one already has. “The legend goes that there was once just one weapon in the form of a trident, but it was stolen by one that did not deserve to wield it. The weapon then split into two tridents, one white and one black. The black one is said to strengthen the user by feeding on negative emotional energies, such as anger, fear, and sadness. The white, fed on positive emotional energies, such as happiness and good intentions. “Your job is, obviously, to go and get these weapons of power and bring them back for further study. Any questions?” A small Matoran-like being with yellow armor and a green Kanohi raised his hand. “Yes, Balatar?” acknowledged Helryx. Balatar’s voice was low and gravelly. “Is it possible for these two weapons to become one again?” Helryx answered, “I don’t know, but I do believe that the can be merged again. Anything else?” No one raised hands, so the blue-armored leader continued her lecture. “The weapons are located in caves in the northern part of the continent. They are difficult to navigate, and there are some traps farther in. “You will have a map; Krakua, my assistant, will give you each a copy of it on your way out of the conference room. “Kemlar is your captain; I have given her command of one of our faster ships, the Vector. You are to obey any command she gives you without any complaints or objections. “That’s all that I have to say; you are free to go. Be at the ports by dawn tomorrow!” Helryx added as she made a gesture towards the door, and as one, the eight Order members left the room. As she left the room, Niha took a map from Krakua. She went directly to her quarters to pack her things. As she did so, she thought about the weapons. The tridents intrigued her. She once had one, but she lost it long ago, before she became a member of the Order. Niha had trained with staffs and spears while at the order, but after much thought, she used dual katanas instead. She wondered what the tridents looked like. Niha put her energy packs into her bag. She forgot to congratulate Kemlar for being promoted to a mission captain! “Oh well,” She said as she packed more things. “I guess we’ll have to celebrate tomorrow.” Niha put one last thing in her bag—her swords—and left for the hub to check the week’s weather. All week the weather would be filled with thunderstorms. Niha sighed. Storms and sailing didn’t work well together. Large waves and fierce winds would have them bailing buckets of water back into the sea all week. Would they make it through? Surely they would, Niha thought, but still she was doubtful. Niha left the hub and entered the library. It would be useful to learn as much about the Northern Continent as possible. Then she wouldn’t be clueless as to what to expect. From several tablets’ reading, Niha learned that the Northern Continent had many Brotherhood of Makuta members assigned to it due to its size. The population was dominated by Ko-matoran, but a large amount of Ta-matoran, Le-matoran, and De-matoran also resided there. Having learned all about the Northern Continent, Niha proceeded to browse the library shelves for information on the Tridents of Power. She found several tablets on legendary weapons, Kanohi, and other artifacts, but even after asking the archives master, she found nothing about the tridents. It was getting very late, and Niha reasoned, heavy-lidded, that she ought to get some sleep before the long journey ahead of her tomorrow. She drowsily left the archives and crossed the hub to the dormitory branch on the opposite end. Only a few people milled about as Niha made her way to bed. She finally got to dormitory number two hundred forty. She didn't even bother to remove her armor before collapsing on her bed. Tomorrow, Niha thought in her cloudy state, she would begin her first mission, rain or shine. ---- It was a few hours before dawn at the fortress of the White Blades, and Furtonus had been summoned by the Master Pirate. As the yellow-armored mercenary walked down the hall leading to the Master's throne room, he wondered why he had been asked to rise at such an early hour. Whatever it was, he reasoned, it would be important. The doors to the throne room opened automatically as Furtonus entered. The pirate walked to the middle of the room and bowed before the leader of the White Blades. "Rise, Furtonus," the leader said in a clear, deep voice as he glared down at the orange being before him. Furtonus stood as the Master continued. "There is word that two weapons of power are in the caves of the Northern continent. I want them brought here. It would be...unfortunate, if someone else got a hold of them. You need not know the details, but I want you to gather your crew and be out by daybreak. You are dismissed." Furtonus bowed again, and left the throne room. Unbeknownst to the yellow pirate, his crew wasn't the only one who was out to get the weapons. Chapter Two The sunrise at the White Blade fortress was beautiful. The clear sky was a good omen to any sailor, even if that sailor was as despicable and foul as Furtonus, who had rounded up his crew as soon as he left the Pirate Master's palace. There had been much grumbling among the crew, but Furtonus had silenced it quickly. "If you don't like what the Master has commanded of you," he had said, "go tell him." That had silenced all of them, and although they were still unhappy, the crew of pirates closed their mouths, knowing the Master's fury. They had readied their ship, the Outcast, quickly, and were able to leave port in good time. Now they were about twenty miles from shore heading towards the Northern Continent. Furtonus adressed the crew. "We will be sailing nonstop until we reach Xia. I have gained some knowledge this morning that may compromise our plans. It appears that another crew is searching for the weapons also. Fortunately, one of the crew's members - the one who told me they were also searching for the weapons - is making a deal with us. We will both stop at Xia, and we are to kidnap two of their crew. "We are looking for a young Toa of Water with a Mask of Favor, and a white Toa with a helmet. Is that easy enough for you?" The crew roared with acnowledgement as the Outcast glided farther and farther away from it's port, heading for Xia. A traitor was in the midst of the Order of Mata Nui. ---- Back on Daxia, the sunrise was not even visible. The downpour of rain and sleet, the howling wind, and the black clouds obstructed the view of the sun, however bright it may be. Only one crew was out at the docks today, and as unfortunate as it may be, that one crew was Kemlar's. The female Order member bellowed orders to her crew, barely audible over the roar of the rain. She looked at the gray sky in anger, wishing she could just make the storm go away. But wishful thinking would not get them sailing, and Kemlar knew it. Her first mate, a white-armored Toa, informed her that the ship was ready to sail. "Thank you, Challix." Kemlar yelled over the tempest, "Set sail. I will be in the captain's cabin; I need to check in on Niha." Challix and Kemlar boarded the Vector, and now the former was the one yelling and shouting orders. The Vector was sailing for the first time under the command of Kemlar, heading for the Nothern Continent. Kemlar entered the captain's cabin, and Niha was putting her bag of equipment away. "Hi, Kemlar," Niha greeted. "Hi. How're you holding up? Do you think you can make it?" Kemlar replied kindly. "On my first mission I was a nervous wreck." "Oh, well, I'm really excited that I actually have a job to do. I'll do anything you ask! I'll bail wate, I'll mop the deck..." Niha went on and on about how she would obey any command. Kemlar smiled as Niha continued. "...I am a bit worried, though, that I won't be good enough. You see, this is my first mission, and I was expecting to do anything this important." "Well, you're not the only one who's working here. You've got others to help you," Kemlar reassured her. "I guess," Niha said slowly. "Now," Kemlar said in a mock serious tone, "with all this talk about doing anything I ask, we've got work to do!" Niha gave her captain a grin, and listened to her commands. ---- The raging storm did not cease, and eventually the crew of the Vector had to bail water from the ship. Niha grabbed a small steel bucket, filled it with water, and returned it to the sea. She did it again. And again. And again. Over and over Niha and the rest of the crew bailed water, a ceaseles struggle to keep the ship dry. The young Toa's arms ached, her mind in a dull state. Fill the bucket, empty the bucket, and repeat. Fill the bucket, empty the bucket, and repeat. As she continued the monotonous labor, Niha looked over to her left, and the yellow-armored being with the green mask, the one that asked the question the other day, was there. "Your name is Balatar, right? You're the one that asked if the tridents could be combined, right?" Niha questioned. Balatar answered with a gravelly "Yep" and continued bailing water. Niha looked to her right and saw a red Skakdi with blue eyes. "What's your name?" she asked. The Skakdi was a bit friendlier than Balatar. "My name's Threkk. What's your name?" "Niha." "Ah, so you're the new recruit?" He asked as he dumped his pale of water again. "Yes, I am!" Niha answered. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you!" Threkk said as he shook Niha's hand. Niha replied with "You, too!" and continued her work, happier than when she began. Maybe this mission could be successful. ''More soon" Characters *Niha *Helryx *Kemlar *Balatar *Furtonus *Pirate Master *Unnamed archives master